Door-buffer



1. H. HARWARD.

DOOR BUFFER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21,1921.

1,385,448, Patented July 26, 1921.

JOHN HARWARD, 0F LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS,

DOOR-BUFFER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 26, 1921.

Application filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,058.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN I-I. HARWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Buffers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to buffers or bumpers for swinging or hinged doors and the like, and is particularly adapted for use on automobil bodies to serve as a buffer for cushioning closing movements of the doors and also to prevent the doors from rattling.

Such buffers sometimes consist of an elastic contact member made, for instance, of rubber which is fastened either to the door or the jamb in such manner that the amount of its projection cannot be adjusted.

I am aware that buffers have been devised in which there is a casing attachableto the door or jamb and in this casing an elastic contact member which projects therefrom a greater or less extent according to adjustment.

My invention is on a buffer in which is a casing from the front of which projects an elastic contact member which can readily be adjusted to take up wear or quickly renewed. The principal advantage of my device is that when adjusted there is no possibility of slipping or getting out of adjustment by accident, as I provide a rigid follower and parts which keep the elastic contact member positively in position.

In thev drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view showing one of my buffers in position on the bottom or sill of a door jamb with thedoor open.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of one of my buffers in position on such a sill or other part of the jamb, with the door closed.

Fig. 3 is an elevation from the front of the cover removed from the casing.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of one of my buffers from the front, all the parts being in place except the attaching screws, and parts being shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of my buffers from the top with the cover removed.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the position of the follower when the contact member has worn down.

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing a somewhat modified form of buffer.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a stamped sheet metal casing.

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a slightly modified form of my device showing that 1t can be used without a cover plate. In the following description, I will refer to my buffer as if it were attached to the bottom or sill of a door jamb, and will refer to the back, base,.etc., as if it were in such position. It is understood, however, that it may be attached to the top or the side with equal facility.

Ur represents that part of an automobile door which closes in a corresponding part of the body, which I will call the j amb and represent by F. Generally the door is so cut away at 10, 11 and 12 at the edge that it will engage similar cut away parts 20, 21 and 22 so as to make a tight joint in a well known manner. My buffer comprises a casing A having a base 40 through which suitable holes 39 may be bored for the passage of screws 31 which are the means to attach it to the door jamb F or a door G coiiperating therewith.

Besides the base 40, casing C has a back 41, an open front 42, and opposite sides 43 and 44, each of which is provided on the inside with a plurality of teeth 45 or 46 which preferably rake toward the front 42 and are parallel therewith-at the back.

Casing A also has an open top 47 in which are longitudinal grooves 48 and 49.

I provide a cover plate B to fit the open top 47 and arrange it so that it has on each side longitudinal rabbets 77 and 78 which fit grooves 48 and 49 whereby cover plate B is slidable in the grooves in the open. top 47 To hold cover plate B in place, I provide a. single screw 59 which passes through a hole 8 therein into a threaded hole 9 in top 4'1. By removing this screw 59, the cover plate B can readily be slid out to reach the interior of the casing.

An important feature of my device is the follower D made of rigid material, preferably metal, which has at each side projections 55 and 56 of a size to engage teeth 45 and 46, both being made so that, when the cover B is removed, the follower D can be lifted up out of the teeth 45 and 46. The follower D also has locking fingers 50, 50..

C represents an elastic contact member preferably made of rubber of such size that it can be slipped in from the front 42 between teeth and 46, cover plate B and base 40 and having depressions 60, 60 which engage the locking fingers 50, of the follower. The follower and member C may thus be locked together, and when cover plate B is removed can both be lifted .out and, a shown in Fig. 6, can then be replaced between any opposite set ofteeth 45, 46. I

As shown in Fig. 6, when the contact member C wears down, it and the follower D can be removed out thereby keeping the necessary adjustment between the door and jamb. Likewise when G has completely worn down, it may be lifted out from the locking fingers 50, '50 and replaced by a new one. 7 I

In Fig. 7, I show a modified construction of buffer which, instead of being attached to door G by screws 31, is merely set into a recess 3 therein.

This comprises a casing H which has an open front 81, sides 80, in which there are no teeth, and a back 82 which i also plain. In the base, however, are teeth 83 and opposite them in the cover plate K are other teeth 84. Cover plate K is shown as attachable by means of a screw 85.

N represents a follower which has no locking fingers but which simply sets in between any two sets of teeth 83 and 84, and serves as a rigid backing behind the elastic contact member L which may or may not have projections, such as 86, also adapted to engage teeth 83 or 84 so as to prevent it from falling out of front 80.

The casing of my buffer may be cast or otherwise made of relatively heavy metal, or may be stamped from sheet metal, as shown at P in Fig. 8. In this construction, the base 70 has screw holes 71 and the sides 72-, 72 are bent at right angles thereto, thence around at 73, 73 to form grooves for the cover plate. The teeth 74 are pressed inward out of the metal of the sides 72, 72 as shown.

As shown in Fig. 9, I can doaway with the cover and grooves by cutting in the door or frame A a recess90 to just receive buffer casing S which has a base 91, an open front 94, and an open top 95, together with sides 02 from'ea'ch of which inwardly project teeth 94 and through which pass the attaching screws, such as 93. In this case, the

open top 95 when in position becomes the bottom, while the base 91 becomes the top, but the principle is the same in all cases, the main feature being the casing having teeth with an open front from which the elastic member can project, a top which is open when the buffer is removed, and the teeth for adjustment. i

I claim:

1. In a buffer for automobile doors, the combination of an attaching casing having a base, a back, an open top made with grooves, an open front, and opposite sides each provided with a plurality of teeth, with means to attach the base to the door jamb or a door cooperating therewith, a removable cover plate for the top slidable in the grooves thereof, a follower adapted to be inserted through the top having projections to engage said teeth and locking fingers, and an elastic contact member which projects from the front of the casing and engages the locking fingers of the follower.

2. In a buffer for automobile doors, the combination of an attaching casing having a base, a back, an'open top an open front, I

and opposite sides each provided with a plu rality of teeth, with means to attach the base to the door jamb or a door cooperating therewith, a removable cover plate for the top, a follower adapted to be inserted through the top having projections to engage said teeth. and locking fingers, and an elastic contact member which projects from the front of the casing and engages the lock ing fingers of the follower.

3. IN buffer for doors comprising an at taching casing having teeth, an open front, and an open top, a removable cover plate which fits said top, a follower having projections adapted to fit in said teeth, and an. elastic contact memberwhich projects from the front of the casing and is attached to said. follower. V

4. A buffer for doors comprising an attaching casing having teeth, an openfront and an open top, and an elastic contact member which projects from the front of the casing having means movable therewith to register with different sets of teeth to adjust its position with reference to the casing.

JOHN H. HARWARD. 

